French Weekly: "America has never been so frightening — it is the country of sovereign selfishness which is capable of any dirty trick"

Le Nouvel Obs (previously Le Nouvel Observateur or The New Observer) has a special issue on America First or The Mad History of the American Empire. The weekly's cover features a parody (yet another) of the Marines raising the Stars and Strips over Iwo Jima, with most of the leathernecks replaced by Donald Trump, John Wayne, Beyoncé, and Mickey Mouse, while Superman flies overhead in a stream of dollar bills.

It is a unique case in the history of humanity: in less than two hundred years, a sparsely populated colony, the United States, managed to become the world's leading power, embodying the most uninhibited imperialism. Acting as both a "gentle giant," a dream factory capable of capturing the hearts of millions of humans, and a ruthless policeman of the planet ready to do anything to defend its interests, Uncle Sam's homeland has sparked dollars, enthusiasm... and bloodshed.

Just to make sure that we don't miss the message, assistant editor-in-chief Arnaud Gonzague treats us to an article on "President Donald Trump's brutal and erratic policies", Never Has the United States Frightened Us This Much, replete with examples of the adjective "American" replaced by the woke PC word "Unitedstateser" (e.g., l'impérialisme étasunien).

America is frightening. It has probably never been so scary. In this year 2025, the White House became home to a determined and dangerous man for world peace. Donald Trump is openly hostile to democracy, and for him, the only thing that matters is the law of the strongest. Yet, this is not the only face of the United States. Let us remember how this immense country has, in the past, been able to sow stars in our eyes. Its energy captivated us, its confidence fascinated us, as did its proactive morality—distinctive in all Disney movies—according to which each of us can/must "follow our dreams." It is the nation of Obama, Kennedy, Neil Armstrong, "Star Wars," Beyoncé… 

Wait a minute: If America is praised as "the nation of … Beyoncé", what is she doing with John Wayne on the "frightening nation" cover?

But it is also the country of sovereign selfishness, to whom everything is owed and which, in the name of defending its interests, is capable of any dirty trick. This America is that of Trump and before him, of a painful history, which saw the Native American people exterminated, Vietnam and Iraq invaded, fascisms imposed in Latin America or the global economy deregulated by the most carnivorous neo-liberalism…

Compare that with a special issue of when the Democrats were in power, from October 2012 (right before that year's election), called A Trip Through The America We Like/We Love and the One We Find Frightening. The America that France and Europe loves showcases Barack Obama, George Clooney, and Scarlett Johansson while the one that they fear features Mitt Romney and California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger — both of whom (need we remind you?) turned out to be, at least partially, RINOs.